Recap: Koujo recovers from being and dead and bites Yukina. With his power under control, he goes off to save the city…

Lifesong’s Thoughts: I’m not sure what to think of how matter of factly they revealed Koujo’s need to be aroused before he can get his blood sucking on. It was subtle enough that I wasn’t sure what was going on with his powers until he bit the girl at the end, but it was also awkward until that point. Was I supposed to know that Koujo pushed Yukina to the floor because he was considering biting her during that little lecture he gave her?

Many things fell into place this week. I think it would be accurate to say that Strike the Blood has been awkward up until now. This episode justifed a lot of the setup of earlier episodes and Koujo and Yukina went from stiff B grade anime characters, to having their own character motivations.

There is a fine line between a character being humble and indecisive and Strike the blood flirts with that line a lot. I’m surprised to see myself actually believing that Koujo is what he says he is and that he really does understand the scope of what his powers could mean. It may not seem that different from your average light novel gone anime protagonist, but Koujo isn’t stupid or indecisive despite the things he says.

I appreciate the fact that the Lion King organization didn’t really send Yukina to kill Koujo. That seemed rediculous from the start and knowing that she is actually more of a sacrifice than an execution gives their relationship a darker edge that it sorely needed. Yukina may not realize it, but her real job is to observe the awakening of Koujo. Beyond that we don’t really know the motivations of the Lionking are, but after seeing how powerful it is wanting to be a part of that power seems like motivation enough for now.

I find that these characters are actually growing on me, Koujo in particular. He has a strong sense of morality and he isn’t afraid of his powers even if he doesn’t have full control of them. Koujo knows the destruction his familiars are capable of bringing to his home and he values his home and peaceful life over trying to use his powers to do well, anything else.

It’s interesting in my opinion to see a character who is clearly incredibly powerful, but considers himself more of a gatekeep for those powers than something to be used. It’s interesting because when he is presented with tough choices he is rational about them. He knows he has power and he knows how he can use it, but that doesn’t define who he is.

My biggest complaint with Strike the Blood is that school setting conflicts with and distracts from the darker themes at play. Often in anime that is the purpose of school life, but Strike the Blood isn’t a comedy nor is it slice of life. In this case I think it could do what it is trying to do easier if it would stop pretending the characters and their dilemmas fit in with a high school setting. Usually that setting stands as a sort of common ground for the characters, but our protagonist has a good head on his shoulders and Asagi is better defined as a hacker than a student.

Normally I don’t mind a school setting so much, but in this case it seems to serve the story no good and honestly it might even be holding the story back with it’s implied nievity. Characters rarely act their age in anime. but the school setting is usually an important part of the character development for an anime character, here it’s just a thing that exists. Of course they could always make use of the setting in the future, but I personally feel like it was a pointless distraction for this first arc.

Looking forward, Strike The Blood is still far from being one of the better shows of the season, but it has managed to explain itself and what it is trying to be in a cohesive way, that alone is more than I expected. It has also made some interesting promises for future developments. At this point I wouldn’t really recommend this anime to anyone not already watching it, but if Strike the Blood does make good on it’s promises, those of us who have enjoyed it up to this point could be in for a treat.